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Chinese insurer Ping An Insurance (PNGAY) has overtaken BlackRock (BLK) as the biggest shareholder of HSBC Holdings (HSBC) with its roughly $12B stake signaling China's growing appetite for offshore equity investments, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing a company filing. Ping An's stake, held by its asset-management arm, rose to over 7% after a small purchase last week, overtaking BlackRock's 6.6% stake of HSBC based on an October filing, and the stake is valued at 93.72B Hong Kong dollars, or $11.97B. Reference Link

Ping An Insurance upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Bernstein

Bernstein analyst Linda Sun-Mattison upgraded Ping An Insurance to Outperform from Market Perform saying the company has made particularly marked progress in restructuring, by improving the quality of legacy book and front book.

BLKBlackRock

$410.99

1.44 (0.35%)

10/22/18

RBCM

10/22/18NO CHANGETarget $95RBCMSector Perform

State Street price target lowered to $95 from $105 at RBC Capital

RBC Capital analyst Gerard Cassidy lowered his price target on State Street (STT) to $95 and kept his Sector Perform rating after its "weak" Q3 results and limited visibility into 2019, also lowering his FY19 EPS view to $1.88 from $2.01. The analyst cites lower than expected profitability metrics that included a 10bp decline in the core ROAA as well as the company's 4.6% shortfall in non-interest income. Cassidy added that State Street is facing continued headwinds of a strengthening USD and the loss of BlackRock (BLK) business weigh on its servicing revenues.

10/17/18

WELS

10/17/18NO CHANGETarget $440WELSMarket Perform

BlackRock price target lowered to $440 from $510 at Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo analyst Christopher Harris lowered his price target for BlackRock to $440 from $510 after the stock sold off materially likely based on the quarter's revenue, operating income and flow shortfalls and the extent of fee rate degradation. The analyst reiterates a Market Perform rating on the shares.

10/17/18

ARGS

10/17/18NO CHANGETarget $535ARGSBuy

BlackRock price target lowered to $535 from $620 at Argus

Argus analyst Stephen Biggar lowered his price target on BlackRock to $535 even though the company beat on Q3 earnings, saying that its revenue grew by "only 2%" and its long-term net inflows of $10.6B were the lightest in 10 quarters. The analyst notes that the industry is undergoing a period of weak inflows, with the institutional segment posting equity index outflows due to "trade tensions, emerging market weakness and a steepening yield curve". Biggar keeps his Buy rating on BlackRock longer term, noting that de-risking will eventually subside as the company continues to deliver above-average operating margins.

10/17/18

SBSH

10/17/18NO CHANGETarget $500SBSHBuy

BlackRock price target lowered to $500 from $550 at Citi

Citi analyst William Katz lowered his price target for BlackRock to $500 saying near-term base fee pressure and elevated macro risk temper his bullish on the shares. However, the analyst left the company's Q3 results confident in its "resilient business model." He believes the core story is intact and keeps a Buy rating on BlackRock.

HSBCHSBC

$41.68

-0.27 (-0.64%)

10/23/18

RBCM

10/23/18DOWNGRADERBCMUnderperform

HSBC downgraded to Underperform from Sector Perform at RBC Capital

10/22/18

SBSH

10/22/18DOWNGRADESBSHNeutral

HSBC downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Citi

09/11/18

KBWI

09/11/18UPGRADEKBWIOutperform

HSBC upgraded to Outperform with 725p price target at Keefe Bruyette

Keefe Bruyette analyst Edward Firth upgraded HSBC to Outperform from Market Perform with an unchanged price target of 725p. HSBC looks expensive, but it is the highest yielding U.K. bank, Firth tells investors in a research note. Further, the analyst believes the company has "defensive characteristics" with only a third of the business in the U.K.

09/11/18

KBWI

09/11/18UPGRADEKBWIOutperform

HSBC upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Keefe Bruyette

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Morningstar last night reported Q4 earnings per share of 99c, up from 91c a year ago, on revenue of $262.7M, up 8.1% from last year. "Morningstar reached a significant milestone in 2018, surpassing $1 billion in revenue for the first time," said Kunal Kapoor, Morningstar's CEO in the earnings statement. "This achievement resulted from putting investors first and providing exceptional experiences that support better investor outcomes. While the late 2018 downturn in global markets impacted net flows and asset growth in Morningstar Managed Portfolios, we experienced record flows into the ETFs built on Morningstar Indexes." Morningstar said market volatility negatively impacted net flows into Morningstar Managed Portfolios and impacted overall assets in Morningstar Investment Management and Workplace Solutions, particularly in Q4. Assets under management and advisement in Managed Portfolios increased by $1.2B in 2018 and were relatively flat year over year in Workplace Solutions. Morningstar.com premium subscriptions did not meet the company's expectations for growth in 2018, the company admitted. "We recently refreshed the Morningstar.com website and plan additional improvements in 2019," it noted. Shares of Morningstar are down 2%, or $2.62, to $124.60 in early trading.

Terex (TEX) delaying its earnings release led to considerable speculation on possible acquisitions, Baird analyst Mircea Dobre told investors earlier in research note. The analyst believes Astec Industries' (ASTE) "unique circumstances" and "apparent strategic fit" within the Terex portfolio "are worth contemplating." Astec would add asphalt plants, with leading market share in North America, as well a mobile pavers to Terex's Materials Processing segment, Dobre points out. Further, the addition of Astec could give Terex room to potentially altogether divest Crane down the line, with the proceeds used to reduce the leverage resulted from the acquisition, the analyst adds. Regarding the "unique circumstances," Dobre notes Astec's s CEO Ben Brock resigned on January 22, its shareholders have been pushing for improved performance, and that the activist investor on Terex's board was an Astec shareholder. Should Terex pay a multiple for Astec in-line with historical median transaction valuations in the space, it would imply a 27% premium to Astec's current price or $50 per share, according to Dobre. Shares of Astec are up 44c to $39.89 in early trading while Terex is down 3c to $35.54.